Kerstin Helgason, PMHNP
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Board Certified ​​
Kerstin is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Psychiatric nurse practitioners are similar to psychiatrists and can  prescribe psychiatric medications, diagnose mental health problems, and provide psychotherapy. Kerstin sees adults anywhere in California and Arizona and especially enjoys working with adults who are mid-life and older. 

Services

  • Prescribe psychiatric medications for adults.
  • Provide Ketamine, including Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, for adults.
  • Provide psychiatric evaluation, including diagnosis of mental health conditions and recommendations for options for treatments for adults.
    • ​​Common problems include: depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar, and complex PTSD.
  • ​Psychotherapy for adults.​​

About Kerstin

Healing is within all of us. Our bodies and minds naturally want to heal, even though it can take longer than we wish it would. There is a deep inner wisdom that brings us to seek healing through therapy, medications, and all the other ways we nurture our souls. 

I'm a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and Psychotherapist. I have a perspective that ranges from the biological and body to the psychological and spiritual. Our bodies and minds naturally want to heal, but we may need some help in doing so. Medication, therapy, and ketamine can help us focus our healing so we grow faster and more in the directions we want. I enjoy working with people who are ready to go deep into the work, want to both accept themselves and grow, and are open to the healing process in the many forms it takes.
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While I mainly prescribe psychiatric medication and have expanded into offering ketamine treatment and ketamine assisted psychotherapy, I also have experience with a variety of therapies:  Mindfulness and Compassion based therapies, Sensorimotor therapies, Internal Family Systems or "parts" therapies,  Poly-vagal based therapies, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and enjoy working with people with complex PTSD.

I have a Master of Nursing degree as a PMHNP from Oregon Health and Science University and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology degree as a psychotherapist from Pacific University. In addition, I completed the Master Psychopharmacology Program, through NEI (Neuroscience Education Institute) and Integrative Psychiatry Institute's Ketamine Prescriber Certification for using ketamine for treating mental health conditions. A long time ago I was a violinist and music teacher and am still a quilter, sewist, and gardener and trying my best to heal my old wounds, too. 

Books I Love

  • How To Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan, Humans, psychedelics, and the potential for healing. 
  • Waking the Tiger, Peter Levine.  Trauma and it's effect on the body and mind and using the felt sense for healing. 
  • I Don't Want to Talk About it, Terrence Real, Great book on understanding depression in men. 
  • The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, Kristen Neff, PhD and Christopher Germer, PhD. A must read for trauma survivors. Beginner's guide to mindfulness, shame, grounding, and trauma concepts. 
  • Radical Acceptance, Embracing Your Life with the Heart of the Buddha, Tara Brach, PhD. Introduction to the concepts of Radical Acceptance and Mindfulness.
  • The Courage to Heal,  A Guide for Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Ellen Bass and Laura Davis. Explains impact of childhood sexual abuse, including social dynamics that allow for abuse to happen, as well as specific activities for healing.
  • The Body Keeps the Score, Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD. Explains impact and process of trauma on the body and mind.
  • Braving the Wilderness, The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, Brene Brown, PhD​. Shame and how it affects just about everything.
  • Dare to Lead, Brene Brown, expands on Braving the Wilderness with more detailed explanations and examples. 
  • Victims No Longer, The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse,  Mike Lew. Introduction to healing for men who experienced childhood sexual abuse. 
  • The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation,  Deb Dana. Explains how the body and mind respond to trauma and how to re-pattern the nervous system away from trauma responses. 
  • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Interventions for Trauma and Attachment, Pat Ogden and Janina Fisher. Connecting the body and mind with attachment and healing concepts. Especially helpful with dissociation. 
  • Greenlights, by Matthew McConaughey. Stories of learning to be in the moment with one's own heart felt truth.
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Gilroy Office

8339 CHURCH STREET,  SUITE 114,  GILROY, CA 95020
Phone 408-767-2337   Fax 415-376-4572
Info@gilroymentalhealth.com
​Gilroymentalhealth.com